Various wireless access technologies have been proposed or implemented to enable mobile stations to perform communications with other mobile stations or with wired terminals coupled to wired networks. Examples of wireless access technologies include GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) technologies, defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP); and CDMA 2000 (Code Division Multiple Access 2000) technologies, defined by 3GPP2.
As part of the continuing evolution of wireless access technologies to improve spectral efficiency, to improve services, to lower costs, and so forth, new standards have been proposed. One such new standard is the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard from 3GPP, which seeks to enhance the UMTS wireless network.
According to LTE, an uplink shared control channel (PUSCH) can be used to communicate both control information and traffic data (data associated with users or applications). The PUSCH is a traffic channel, and the control information that is communicated in this traffic channel is considered to be control information that is piggybacked onto the traffic channel that is primarily assigned to communicate traffic data.
Conventionally, communicating signaling to control the amount of resource elements of the PUSCH to allocate for control information can consume substantial bandwidth in the wireless link between a base station and a mobile station.